


A Hard Lesson

by FaustianFamiliar



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Dirty Talk, F/F, Fingering, HAROLD THEY’RE LESBIANS, Teasing, nadia is a dom, simmer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25334803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaustianFamiliar/pseuds/FaustianFamiliar
Summary: Nadia wants the Apprentice, regardless of the fact that there’s a party going on.
Relationships: Apprentice/Nadia (The Arcana), Nadia (The Arcana)/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 149





	A Hard Lesson

A swell of orchestral music reaches my ears, sweeping through the palace halls where I walked by Nadia. Her presence is warm and regal beside me, the arm coiled tightly around mine soft against my skin. This close to her, I could smell the fragrance of jasmine as she moved, bringing the memory of silken sheets with it and the lithe silhouette of Nadia’s frame behind sheer curtains. The dress she was wearing tonight was resplendent on her figure, and I could not help but appreciate her beauty as my eyes travel down her body. 

Nadia senses my stare at glances down at me, appraising my features for a long moment before she cocks an eyebrow and a knowing look spreads across her face. 

“Why do I get the notion that you are not thinking about the hours deouvres?” she lilts. 

I give her my most winning smile and trace my fingers over the bare skin of her arm. 

“Maybe I am,” I reply suggestively. 

She chuckles sensibly and leads me closer to the wall, pausing under the glow of a lantern to brush an imaginary hair from my face. 

“Turn around,” she says. 

I look at her quizzically. Two servants bustle past, halting long enough to curtsy quickly to us both before hurrying away. 

“I want to check the fastenings on the back of your costume,” she replies, her face a mask of placid innocence. 

I turn away from her and face the wall, and Nadia’s hands smooth over my back. Her thumbs press into my shoulders, then fingertips trace down my back, grazing over each detail of my costume. I feel her breath as she leans down to murmur to me, her lips grazing delicately at the rim of my ear. Her voice is low and suggestive when she speaks. 

“I hope you can behave yourself tonight,” she teases. “I would be most disconcerted if I had to teach you a lesson later.” 

I shiver involuntarily as she adjusts my hair, her posture betraying none of her audacious language. 

She grips my shoulders and turns me around to face her, reaching down and taking one of my hands in hers. Her eyes are burning with passion as she lifts my hand to her mouth, her penetrating gaze never leaving my eyes as she presses a warm kiss to my knuckles. I feel a thrill weave through the pit of my stomach. 

“Let’s not keep our guests waiting,” Nadia says gracefully. 

We stride towards the ballroom arm-in-arm, the sounds of a merry tune rising above the roar of numerous enthusiastic conversations. The Chamberlain stands at the closed double doors and bows low to us in turn so that the feather in his hat brushes the floor. He swings the door open with a dramatic flourish, shouting into the ballroom while we wait behind him. 

“Allow me to present our gracious hosts, Countess Nadia Satrinava and Their Excellency, MC!” 

“Allow me to present our gracious hosts, Countess Nadia Satrinava and Their Excellency, MC!” 

The ballroom is lavishly decorated for Nadia’s latest party, the Summer Gala. Orbs of light are magically suspended above the dance floor, lighting aerial silks performers and acrobats that sweep gracefully over the crowds of elegant guests. Exotic flowers and vines in a rainbow of colors adorn every column and surface, mingling with perfumes and filling the air with their thick, provocative scent. Fountains and topiaries line the walls, and the cry of an animal draws my attention - one side of the room is open to the veranda, where a collection of bright tropical birds mingle with relaxing partygoers. I am dumbfounded by the splendor, but when I look to Nadia, her gaze is searching my face with powerful tenderness. 

“You look so radiant tonight, MC. I can’t believe you’re really mine.” 

She takes my hand and pulls me closer, bending low to brush her lips across the back of my hand. She contemplates me, her eyes heavy-lidded with a flirtatious smile. 

“May I have this dance?” 

I smile back at her. “I would be honored.” 

She expertly tugs my hand so I go spinning into her embrace as the band strikes up a waltz. Her arm coils around my waist, pulling our bodies flush together. When I look up at Nadia, I see that her cheeks have gone slightly pink. 

She leads me across the dance floor with skill, interlacing the fingers of our joined hands and gently bringing our heads together so that her temple is against mine. I hear her voice whispering in my ear, low and husky, intended only for my ears. 

“It’s a pity all of these people are around. If I had my way I’d rip those clothes off of you and take you right here on this floor.” 

My heart stops for a moment. I can’t conceal my shock when I pull back from her, glancing at her face to see if I heard her correctly. She levels me with an expression that is nothing short of obscene, her eyes burning with desire, the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth. 

I open my mouth to reply, but Nadia suddenly lifts our arms, spinning me in front of her and making her face whirl away out of my sight. She turns me quickly in the other direction so I crash back into her embrace, my back against her chest. 

“I want you,” she growls into the crook of my neck. I’m spiraled back to face her, and she cradles me in her arms, dipping me low and draping herself over me, so the heat of her gaze is all I can see. 

“I’m going to make sure you never forget the fucking you get tonight.” 

She pulls me back up to my feet, resuming the waltz with a cordial smile as though she hadn’t just turned my body into a trembling mass of nerves. 

I am trying to catch my breath when we’re approached by a stout man in an opulent green gown. 

“Ah, Duke Erwyn!” Nadia beams. 

“Countess. I cannot hope to achieve the stunning performance you have treated us to, but would your partner honor me with a dance?” 

Nadia looks to me, and I nod, still not trusting my voice. 

“Certainly,” she says. “I will get drinks for us all. I imagine my companion is very thirsty at the moment.” She bestows one last devilish smile on me before strolling away. 

Nadia returns to collect me after the lively dance, offering me a shimmering, rose-colored drink in a tall glass to match her own. 

“We should make the rounds,” she remarks, surveying the room. She takes my hand and escorts me off the dance floor, encountering a well-appointed couple moments later that require her attention. Nadia’s transformation into Countess is complete as she socializes with her guests. Her laugh is quick and polite, her compliments numerous and flattering. She introduces me to nobility after nobility with her hand pressed affectionately against the small of my back. I can hardly believe that this is the woman who spoke so brazenly to me earlier, until she cuts a conversation with a Zadithian prince short. She leans close to me, filling my senses with her perfume. 

“You make me so wet,” she says. I swallow against the lump in my throat as she pecks my cheek. “I’m going to bend you over the table and fuck you with my tongue until you scream my name.” 

We sit and converse with an ambassador for several minutes. Nadia is the picture of manners, listening carefully as he discusses his recent travels - and him completely unaware that Nadia’s hand is drifting over my body and stroking every inch of bare skin with a feather-light touch. 

“I’m afraid I must deprive you of MC’s charm for the time being,” she says. “There is a matter we must attend to. The work of a Countess is never over, it seems.” 

She guides me out of the ballroom and onto the veranda, where the night air is noticeably cooler and the crowds have thinned to a few groups of people lounging together on the outdoor furniture. We lean against the rail together, and she reaches out to caress my face. 

“What is this matter we need to attend to?” I ask. 

She smiles at me and leans forward, tilting my face up towards her and grazing her lips over mine in a soft, inviting gesture. When I move into her arms, she deepens the kiss, parting my lips with her tongue so I taste the candied smoothness of her rose-colored drink. She makes a small, desperate sound against my mouth, grasping me by the arms and pushing me backwards. I move with her, powerless in the current of her desire, until my back thumps against one of the enormous columns. She breaks the kiss to inspect our surroundings, then guides us along the column until we’re mostly concealed from the view of the other guests. 

She places her hands on either side of my face and kisses me, delicately at first, then escalates the passion of her mouth until I’m breathless and supple under her hands. Her lips press against the corner of my mouth, then my cheek, and trace over my skin until she reaches my ear. Her body pins me against the column, and she traces the shell of my ear with the tip of her tongue, coaxing a soft moan out of me as I tilt my head to give her access and her mouth explores my neck. 

“I can’t take it any longer,” she groans, the movement of her lips against my flesh raising goosebumps on my arms. “I need you.” 

She backs away from me suddenly, leaving me dizzy as she takes my hand and leads me from the veranda to a gazebo tucked into a stand of trees. Her face is flushed now, her breasts heaving against her dress as she tries to catch her breath. 

We reach her sanctuary and Nadia pulls the door open, revealing a small, round room covered in cushions and lit with dim lanterns. She lifts me off my feet and carries me through the threshold bridal-style, looking at me with her eyes sparkling. 

She drops to her knees in the middle of the room and lays me down among the many plush, jasmine-scented pillows. She rises to close and lock the door behind us, then descends onto my form, her face strained with yearning. 

Her hands slide over my clothes, disrobing me until my sex is bare and sending tremors through my body. Nadia slides two fingers into her mouth as she watches me, sucking them and lolling her tongue across them until they glisten in the lamplight. She lowers them to my slit, gliding over my labia and settling on the tingling bundle of nerves between them. My hips move against them involuntarily, sending a strong flutter of bliss through my lower body. Nadia moans appreciatively as she watches me squirm below her, the flush of desire spreading down her neck and cleavage. Her fingers rub me in quick circular motions, making electricity crackle in my core. I am consumed by the ecstasy, my back arching, my voice raised in soft, urgent whines. 

“That’s it, darling,” she coos. “That’s what I want. Let me make you feel good.” 

My sex tightens, every muscle in my body seems to coil into a tight spring, and then the wave breaks over me. My walls pulse over and over, every crashing wave of euphoria bringing new worship to my lips, and Nadia unravels me, spiraling me down into a world of honeyed, humming white light. 

My vision swims before me for a moment when I open my eyes, and then my Countess comes into view, smoldering above me with her lips gently parted. 

“Nadia...that was...” I stammer. 

She grins at me salaciously, raising an eyebrow. 

“Oh. We’re not done,” she replies. “The party will last all night, darling. We won’t be missed for quite some time.” 

“Are...are you sure?”

“I think it’s time you got that lesson now.”


End file.
